Stranger Things
by InkedArt
Summary: Double Potions. Hogsmeade Dates. Valentine's pranks. Animagi. A werewolf, a dog, a stag and a rat. Unrequited love. Requited love. Teenage angst. Sexual awakenings. Humiliating moments. Shakespeare. Jazz records. David Bowie. Family feuds. And two boys realising they're just what the other is missing. RL/SB with JP/LE .
1. Up All Night

**A/N: I needed to get my Wolfstar feels out, and what better way than to write my own story? As usual, I don't own anyone, and I hope to update on a regular basis. Enjoy!  
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"What exactly are you doing?"

It's a quarter to three in the morning and Sirius Black is half hanging out the dormitory window, through which is drifting the cold breeze that woke Remus up.

"Moony! You're, er, awake. I wasn't – er – I was just –" Sirius scrambles wildly, banging his head on the window ledge as he tries to quickly withdraw the top half of his body. "Ow, fuck!" His voice is muffled as though he's holding something in his mouth, and sure enough, when he's gained what composure he can muster, Sirius turns to face his friend, cigarette dangling from his lips. "I was having a fag, Moony. Sorry if I woke you."

Remus shakes his head ever so slightly, sighing. "It's okay, Sirius. No skin off my nose if you want your mouth to taste perpetually like an ashtray and are willing to succumb to an early death due to emphysema." He's always liked that saying. _No skin off my nose_. Absently, Remus wonders the etymology of the saying. He tucks the little thought away in a corner of his brain with a reminder to look it up later.

"What's emphywossit? Nah, never mind, isn't important. I'll probably die at the ripe young age of twenty-two, in bed with three beautiful birds, shagged to death after a wicked night of partying. One or two illicit drugs may or may not be involved in my untimely – and highly mourned – death, but that can all be worked out at a later date." Sirius grins, taking a final drag before casually flicking the cigarette out the window. Remus doesn't approve, but keeps quiet.

Sirius stretches, and Remus can hear bones popping and cracking from where he is. He must have been leaning out of the tower for some time. "Go to bed, Sirius. It's nearly three." Remus is exhausted. There's only two days until the next full moon, and tiredness fills him up, enshrouding him in a blanket of fatigue. It's worse at night, when the moon is waxing and singing her siren song. He can just see it through the window, not quite round but nearly there. There's not a cloud in the sky tonight, and the moonlight shines brightly. "Please, Sirius."

The older boy nods. "'Course, Moons. Didn't mean to wake you, mate. Had to satisfy my craving and all that." He moves towards his bed, the one opposite Remus's and pulls off the jumper he'd worn to protect himself from the cold air. Sirius doesn't like pyjamas. He never has. He'd sleep naked if he could but for the sake of his dorm mates he usually sleeps in a pair of pyjama pants. He slides into bed. "You go to sleep, Moony. I'll drop off in a bit."

Remus nods, knowing that the cigarette has woken Sirius up. The cold air couldn't have helped, either. It's often like this. Sirius craves a cigarette before bed, so he has one, which wakes him up so he therefore can't fall asleep, so he craves another cigarette, which wakes him up even more. And so on and so forth. It's an endless cycle, and one that has seriously deprived the Black boy of sleep numerous times. Remus remembers a time when Sirius didn't sleep for nearly three days. He was delirious by the end of it, and convinced he was a chicken. Well, that could have been due to James placing eggs in Sirius' bed and clucking when talking to him, but either way the sleeplessness didn't help.

Remus snuggles down into his bed, pulling the covers right up over his head. It's dark in this little blanket cave, and Remus can sleep easily. No moonlight to distract him or cause him stress. Just darkness and warmth. It doesn't take him long to fall asleep.

Sirius, on the other hand, is awake even as Dawn creeps up over the mountains; her rosy fingers brushing awake the ink of the night sky. Sirius thinks he's heard a phrase similar to that before. Probably from something Moony read to him once. Sirius is always asking Remus to read out loud. There's something in the way he talks, the way he lingers lovingly over certain words and phrases, which Sirius enjoys. It makes reading _interesting_, more than Sirius had ever thought possible. He only ever gets Remus to read fiction books, though. Not even Remus could make their textbooks remotely interesting.

Dawn arrives and rose-coloured clouds along with it. James stirs restlessly in the bed next to Sirius, his blanket in a pile on the floor, and Peter's in his bed over in the corner, his head where his feet should be and his feet resting comfortably on his pillow. Sirius gets up as his friends start to wake, and pulls back the blankets encasing Moony's slim frame. "Time to wake up, Moons. Classes and all that."

Sirius always feels guilty if he wakes Remus up during the night, especially just before a full moon. Remus's constant exhaustion is tenfold by then, and there are days when he can barely get out of bed. As expected, Remus mumbles something incoherent and tries to feebly pull the blankets out of Sirius's hands. Sirius laughs. "Breakfast, Moony! Tea and crumpets and all things English. C'mon!" He pulls the blankets right off the bed, leaving Remus tousle-haired and subject to the morning light. Remus opens his eyes and glares at Sirius blearily before sighing and sitting up.

Ten minutes later they're all dressed and trooping down to breakfast. It's double Potions this morning and Sirius is not looking forward to it after last night's bout with insomnia. The Great Hall is buzzing with the sound of hungry students talking. Breakfast has always been Sirius favourite thing at Hogwarts. After pranking, of course. He eats nearly the same thing every morning. Bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, toast and coffee. Sometimes he'll add tomatoes or beans to his breakfast, but that's usually for the days following a transformation. This morning, it's just his usual haul, though there's more coffee involved than usual.

James raises an eyebrow. "Pretty sure that's your third pot of coffee, Pads."

Sirius shrugs, pouring another mug. "Didn't sleep."

James looks at Remus, who's politely sipping at his fourth cup of tea. He knows he should eat, but he's just not hungry. "Cigarettes," he murmurs in response to James's unasked question.

"Ah, 'course." James should have known. Sirius kept him awake many a night this past holiday, puffing on a cigarette long after they should both have been asleep. "Did he wake you, Moons?"

Moony nods, taking a long draught of his tea and finishing it. He's about to pour his fifth cup when James makes a strangled sound, runs his hands through his hair, and turns slightly pale. A hand places itself on Remus's shoulder.

"Double Potions today, Remus. Looking forward to it?" Ah, of course. Only the presence of one Lily Evans could throw James into such turmoil. He turns and smiles up at the pretty redhead.

"Of course. Nothing better than spending time with you, Lily." Professor Slughorn had taken it upon himself to sort out his students into pairs for their upcoming assignment based on whom he thought would work best together. Needless to say, Sirius and James had been paired up (as they refused to be paired with anyone else) and Remus had been paired with Lily. Slughorn, for whatever reason, had accidentally overlooked Peter, which meant that he'd been paired with Greta Catchlove, a student known for her prowess in Charms and her utter incompetence in Potions.

James still thinks Remus rigged the pairings, despite Remus reminding him that James had refused to be paired with anyone but Sirius. Not that he would have been paired with Lily anyway. It would have been far too distracting for him.

Lily smiles at Remus, ignoring James's attempts at seducing her. He has no one to hold him back – Sirius is too busy trying to stay awake, and Peter's too busy fretting over the upcoming Double Potions where he'll have to be seated with Greta – and so James is uninhibited, his attempts at being suave quickly turning into fervid attempts to just get Lily to look in his general direction. Remus is impressed. James has upset three dishes and knocked a poor second year to the ground, and still Lily's eyes haven't even flickered over his way. They are, however, twitching slightly and her smile is ever so slightly too wide, and Remus knows she's about three seconds from exploding and taking James with her. He needs to diffuse this situation.

"I'll see you in class," he murmurs and the redhead nods, stalking out of the Great Hall followed by her friends. "She's going to kill you soon Prongs," Remus says, picking up his bag from under his feet. "You embarrass the both of you when you go mad like that."

He picks up Sirius's as well, tapping the older boy on the shoulder. James follows gloomily behind and Peter after him.

"I can't help it Moons! She completes me. My heart feels like it's on fire when I see her. It's like … like…" he trails off, unable to think of anything that would properly express his feeling towards Lily Evans. "I _love_ her, Moons."

Remus nods curtly. "Yes, well, love is a fickle mistress and all that. Come on, we've got classes to attend."

A groan goes up from all three boys, just as it has done so for the past four and a half years, and they troop off towards the torture that is Double Potions.


	2. Raise Hell

**A/N: Oh my god I am so sorry it's been so long for this update! I had internet troubles and then an abundance of university assignments to start and complete. Please forgive me! I started this chapter over a month ago and only just completed it. On the bright side, I finish uni soon for the year, so expect plenty of update from Nov 6 onwards! I hope this chapter is okay, and thanks to all who've read it!**

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The sky is a beautiful cerulean, and the sun peeks out from behind the mass of clouds covering it. Most students are out on the grounds, lapping up the rare sunshine. Four Gryffindor students however, have opted to stay indoors.

After that morning's horror of Double Potions, in which James had managed to spill his potion all over Sirius and himself (resulting in painful boils), and Peter had fainted due to stress, the Fifth year Marauders have decided a prank was in order. A good one - something to undo the humiliation of that morning. James can still see Lily's laughing face every time he closes his eyes.

"Right. So, any ideas for Operation Regain-Our-Dignity?" James claps his hands, assuming a business-like air. Sirius is stretched out languidly, his head in James's lap and his feet in Remus's.

Peter raises his hand. "Erm, I have an idea. What about if we get three cows, paint the numbers one, two and four on them, take them up to the top floor and let them loose? 'Cause, y'know, the teachers would be looking for a fourth cow, and cows can't go down stairs."

The other three stare at him.

"Y'know Pete, that's actually a good idea. A great idea, in fact. There's only one problem." Sirius yawns widely and stretches.

"Where're we gonna get the cows, Pete? You can't exactly go to Hogsmeade and ask for three cows." James looks at Sirius in disgust. "Cover your mouth when you yawn, Pads! I don't want to see your tonsils, mate."

The look of disappoint is so clear on his face that Remus's feels almost guilty that the prank isn't possible to do. "Sorry, Peter. Maybe it can happen another time? I'm sure James'll find a way over the summer."

James looks at his friends. "I'm sure I will! After, y'know, I woo Evans again." His eyes begin to glaze over, and a dopey grin finds its way onto his face.

Sirius rolls his eyes and jumps to his feet in one fluid motion, narrowly missed James's nose with his head. "Alright you lot! Lazy gits. Prongs over here is too busy mooning about over a certain fiery redhead to properly conduct this meeting in the way it should be conducted so I, Lieutenant Padfoot, am taking charge. So far, we've thought of cows. And we've discovered that we cannot involve cows. So! How about we turn the whole third floor into a bog, eh?

James is shaken out of his Lily Evans daydream. "A bog, Pads?"

"Why not? Third floor's a pretty important floor and all that. Or it could be the Owlery. Or the dungeons. Potions classroom? Frankly I don't care – I just want to turn something into a bog. We could even add a Will-o'-the-wisp!" He beams, looking more than pleased with himself.

"Where would we get a Will-o'-the-wisp, Sirius? Honestly. However, I think the bog isn't such a bad idea. We could certainly pull it off." Remus has his 'serious thinking' face on, and he gazes up at the ceiling. Sirius can almost see the cogs turning around and around in Remus's head.

"Dunno Moons, but if anyone can get a Will-o'-the-wisp, it's you. DADA is your best subject after all!"

Remus doesn't hear him, but James and Peter have their eyes fixed on Sirius, a mischievous glint in them. "A bog. I like it. It's certainly doable, and third floor is easy. Alright, bog it is!"

Peter looks excited, and nearly topples over as he scrambles to his feet, accidentally bumping Moony as he does so. Remus shakes his head briefly as if to bring himself back to earth, and looks at Sirius. "I _could_ probably get a Will-o'-the-wisp, you know. It might take a while, but I could do it. If you want it, that is."

Something about Remus's tone of voice makes James think that Remus means he would only do this if _Sirius_ wants it, never mind anyone else. But James let this slip by and doesn't give it much thought. Will-o'-the-wisp or no, the bog would happen and it would be wicked!

He too gets to his feet, and soon they're all standing. He claps his hands together and rubs them gleefully. "Alright! Let's do this! No wisp this time, Moons – too time consuming. And, of course, the more time we spend focusing on a prank, the less time I have to woo Lily. To the library!"

Ninety minutes later and the quartet are crammed around a small table in the library, bits of parchment and broken quills littered at their feet. The current scrap of parchment they are working on is covered in ink splotches, crossed out plans and the occasional finger smudge where James has jabbed his finger down on the parchment in an attempt to get his point across.

"No, no, no, the _whole_ third floor, Moons! What's the point of just doing part of it? The. Whole. Floor." More smudged fingerprints appear on the page.

Remus massages his temples. He's already exhausted due to the closeness of the full moon, but trying to plan a prank as big as this is taxing and he's feeling more tired than usual.

"Can't it wait, James? I'm exhausted, and I won't be any help tomorrow or the day after. Why don't we just do it on Saturday?"

James huffs, but a look from Sirius shuts him up. "Okay _fine._ We'll wait for you to recover from your time of the month, okay Moons? But early on Saturday!" He grabs the parchment from under Remus's elbows and rolls it up. "I think we've enough to work on for now, anyway. C'mon Pete, you can help me think of ways to seduce Evans."

Peter rolls his eyes but complies, realising he has nothing better to do anyway.

Sirius and Remus watch them go. Remus rubs his eyes and stifles a yawn. He can feel the beginnings of a headache coming on and knows that he should probably go to bed. But he's Remus Lupin, and is not going to let a library opportunity to pass him by.

He glances at Sirius, who's looking around the library as though just realising where he is.

"Y'know Moony, the only time I've ever actually been to the library is when we're all planning a prank. It's bizarre being here without the others."

Remus nods, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands "Well, you can either leave and go what's left of the day outdoors before dinner, or you can stay here with me, I guess. I might as well brush up on my Transfiguration theory while I'm here."

Sirius throws himself into the chair next to Remus, his feet resting on the table and his arms behind his head. "I'll stay. I should brush up on my Transfiguration too. I reckon the only reason I'm passing is because McGoogles fancies me."

Remus knows for a fact that (a) Sirius is not passing Transfiguration and in fact it's his second-best subject and (b)McGonagall doesn't fancy Sirius; in fact (3) she'd probably be quite pleased if Sirius would stop flirting with her and (4) stop calling her McGoogles or Minerva or even Minnie, but Remus doesn't argue. He appreciates the company, no matter how distracting or fidgety the company is.

He smiles, a soft almost-imperceptible turning up of the corners of his mouth, and reaches into his bag for his Transfiguration textbook. "Thanks, Sirius."

Sirius looks over at his friend and favourite werewolf. "Anytime mate."


	3. We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands

**A/N: Thanks for the follows and the review! It's very much appreciated - I was like knowing what people think of my stories. I also apologise for the short length of this chapter - I'm working on being able to write longer ones, I swear.**

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It's 9:43 am on Saturday morning. The full moon came and went, leaving the Marauders relatively unscathed. Remus has a new scar encircling his fourth rib in his left ribcage, but other than that, it was a pretty smooth night.

As for the third floor, which was turned into a bog at 4.12 am, it's having a pretty rough time. After all, it has entrapped a Ravenclaw, two Gryffindors, half a Hufflepuff – her foot became stuck as she tried to pull out her friend – and, unfortunately, absolutely no Slytherins.

The Marauders survey their prank with disappointment.

"Y'know, maybe the third floor was a bad idea. No one's even _on_ the third floor! Shoulda done the dungeons. " Sirius runs his hands through his hair.

"Oh shut up, you berk. It was your idea!" James is balancing precariously on one leg. They're all standing at the edge of the bog, pretending to be as shocked as their peers, watching in amusement as Filch attempts to rescue the students who wandered bleary-eyed into the bog on their way to breakfast.

Peter glances around nervously. There's far too many people here for his liking and more and more teachers are appearing every minute. "We should get outta here!" There's sweat beginning to appear on his brow. Not for the first time does Peter wonder just _why_ exactly he joins in with these pranks. He hates attention and getting into trouble, yet the two go hand-in-hand when a Marauders prank is pulled. Next time, Peter vows to stay out of it. At least, he hopes he will.

Remus is silent, watching Filch pull Xenophilius Lovegood from the bog. The Ravenclaw, rather than thank the caretaker from saving him from the awful-smelling goop, wanders off down the stairs in search for a Mackled Malaclaw. Remus doesn't have the heart to tell him that he won't find one. Absent-mindedly, he fiddles with the shiny Prefect badge pinned to his robes. He can feel annoyance radiating from Sirius. Sure, the prank actually _worked_, it just didn't work the way they'd wanted it to. The Slytherins were unscathed, and poor Gaspard Shingleton and Dirk Cresswell had fallen prey to the blog instead.

"I agree with Peter. We should definitely leave now," Remus murmurs. He doesn't mind that the teachers are furious, and that McGonagall is most likely going to give them detention for eternity. No, what prompts Remus to urge the others to leave is the appearance of a pretty redhead on the opposite side of the bog.

And she is livid.

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Lily Evans prides herself on three things:

1. Her enviable collection of music records

2. The fact that she has read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes novels seven times, and

3. Her ability to keep her fiery temper under wraps.

Unfortunately, Number 3 on the List of Things Lily Evans is Proud Of comes undone whenever James Potter is in the room. He infuriates her like no other being on the planet, and has done so for the past five years. It's getting ridiculous.

Lily smells the bog before she sees it. It smells as if a wet dog and a pile of fresh poo had mated, with the bog being its love child. In certain parts, it smells even worse. It takes all of Lily's will not to throw up. Of all the Infuriating Things James Potter has Done, this bog is edging its way up towards the top, second only to Interrupting Lily's Fourth Year Valentine's Date with a Fat, Hairy Cherub who sang Old Italian Love Songs.

She's yet to live down the humiliation, and Tilden hasn't been able to look her in the eyes since.

Lily spots the four arbitrators on the run, and her fury is quadrupled. Remus is there – Remus Lupin the _prefect_ – and she hopes, no, she's _prays_ that James Potter and Sirius Black blackmailed and threatened Remus to the point of breaking, and that he hadn't decided to help create the blog _just because he could._

She pushes through the crowd, nearly causing poor Daisy Hookum to fall face first into the bog. Thankfully, Tilden catches her before she falls. As Lily makes her way through the crowd, she can hear Daisy's fervid "thank you"s and Tilden's abashed "it was nothing"s.

The boys have disappeared by the time Lily rounds the corner of the third floor, and she stops short, her hands curled into fists by her side and her cheeks flushed. All she can think about is the slow, painful ways she will torture and punish James for this. Though, she thinks, he'd probably enjoy it. His constant attempts to gain Lily's attention scream _masochist!_ Obviously, he enjoys causing himself pain.

Lily lets out a deep breath, travelling mentally to her happy place – the Beatles concert she attended with her dad a few years prior. This whole ordeal needed mulling over. If teachers had caught them, it would be a whole different problem, and Lily wouldn't have to worry about it any more. But no, she's caught them (well, as good _as_, anyway), and she's the one who has to bring them to some kind of justice. She's no tattletale, and refuses to tell the teachers who the perpetrators are (especially with no proof), but she cannot let this slide relatively unnoticed.

She glances around the corridor once more; sure she just heard a noise that sounded not dissimilar to a sneeze, but seeing nothing, turns on her heel and leaves. The teachers are going to need all the help that can get if they hope to rid that third floor of the bog before dinner.

Hidden beneath James's invisibility cloak merely seven feet from where Lily had been standing, the Marauders let out a collective sigh. James taps Peter sharply upside his head.

"Berk! She nearly found us! Why'd you have to go and bloody _sneeze?_"

Peter screw up his face in indignation. "Maybe if you'd wash this thing once in a while, it wouldn't be full of dust and bugs and Merlin knows what else!"

Sirius coughs. "Traces of perfume, Pete. S'probably what made you sneeze. Girly perfume too. I can smell it. Have you had a bird under here, Prongs? Bloody hell mate, I hope you didn't, you know…" he raises his eyebrows at James, who has turned slightly pink, "because if I find you have, and I've touched this thing, I'll kill you. Orright?"

James nods, artfully avoiding the question. "Well! Operation Regain-Our-Dignity was only partially a flop, so I propose we go to the kitchens to celebrate! Butterbeer all round, and whatnot! C'mon lads, it's party time!"

They set off, and Remus, who has been very quiet for the past while, glances back towards where the bog is. He wonders how long it will be until he grows out of this stage; until he finds more mature friends; until he finds a girlfriend or something, but Sirius's hand pushing him forward ever-so-slightly reminds Remus that his friends aren't all that bad, even if a little immature.

After all, they accept him for what he is and have done more than he ever would have expected just to make him feel normal and accepted.

Remus smiles. Sure, they have their faults, but who doesn't? This, right here, the four of them, is true friendship. And nothing, ever, could come between the Marauders.


End file.
